


Stress

by AutisticWriter



Series: Riley's Prompt Meme Fills [23]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Anxiety Disorder, Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Gift Fic, One Shot, Running Away, Sleepovers, Stress
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-13 22:19:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18949780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutisticWriter/pseuds/AutisticWriter
Summary: Yaku cracks under the stress of school and volleyball practise, and runs away. He turns up at Nishinoya’s house, and Noya tries to help his stressed, anxious rival feel better.





	Stress

**Author's Note:**

> Anti-shippers don't interact.

Nishinoya lies on his back, hands tucked behind his head, and stares up at his bedroom ceiling. Music plays from his iPod, docked into a speaker on the other side of the room, and his songs play on shuffle, giving him a totally random selection of music from all over the world. He lets out a contented sigh; after all his work studying and practising volleyball, he really needs a break.

He gets startled out of his relaxation when someone rings the doorbell. Noya sits up, frowning; what is someone doing here after 10pm?

Switching his music off, he creeps over to the door in time to hear his mom out in the hallway, talking to herself about why anyone would visit this late.

Opening the door, Mom says, “Who are you? Oh, are you all right, dear?”

So Mom doesn’t know who it is, but she’s… worried about them? What the fuck is going on?

His curiosity getting the better of him, Noya ventures out of his room and stands at the top of the stairs. From here, he has a clear view of the front door. Of his mom, and Yaku stood in the doorway.

Wait… Yaku?

“Yaku-san, what are you doing here?” Noya says, jogging down the stairs and moving to stand beside his mom.

“You know this boy, dear?” Mom asks.

Noya nods. “Yeah, Yaku’s on the Nekoma Volleyball Team. So, seriously, man, what are you doing here?”

For the first time, he gets a good look at his friend and rival. His eyes widen.

Yaku stands with one hand up to his lips, nibbling on his fingernails, and the other dangling by his side, holding a cycling helmet. A bicycle stands a few feet back, and Yaku is out of breath, flushed and sweaty. But… there’s more than that. Noya can’t really process it, but Yaku looks… mentally weak as well as physically.

“Oh, Nishinoya-san, I’m sorry for intruding,” Yaku says, bowing awkwardly.

“Just call me Noya. It’ll get confusing if you call both of us that,” Noya says, laughing just as awkwardly.

“Okay. Thank you… Noya.”

“So, gonna explain why you cycled all the way to my house at this time of night?”

Yaku swallows. “I took the train too.” He sighs. “It’s… a long story.”

“Are you safe, Yaku-kun?” Mom asks in that Concerned Mom Voice she does so well. “Do you need me to call the police?”

“No, no, it’s nothing like that, Nishinoya-san,” Yaku says, shaking his head. “I’m okay. It’s…” His breathing gets faster and he hunches forwards slightly, like he can’t catch his breath. “Can I just… stay a while? Please?”

“Of course you can, darling. Yuu, take your friend up to your bedroom. But you have to do one thing for me.”

Yaku looks at her, panic flashing in his eyes. “Yes?”

“Promise me you’ll call your parents. If you ran away from home, they must be worried sick.”

“Oh, Yaku lives in dorms, Mom,” Noya says, gesturing for Yaku to enter the house.

“Well then, promise me you’ll contact your friends.”

Yaku steps over the threshold, shutting the door behind him. He slips off his shoes, still breathing too hard. “I promise, Nishinoya-san.”

And, with that, Mom smiles and goes back to the living room.

“Come on, let’s go to my room,” Noya says, pointing up the stairs.

“Oh, okay,” Yaku says, dropping his helmet. “Thank you, Noya.”

“No problem. Let’s go.”

He leads Yaku up the stairs and into his rather messy bedroom, shutting the door for privacy. After getting Yaku to sit on his bed, Noya plonks on his swivel chair at the cluttered desk, and spins to face him.

“So… what’s this all about? And you don’t have to look so terrified, man.”

Yaku gives a weak smile, but he still looks like shit. “Sorry. I, uh… I think I’ve cracked under stress. I… I had to get away.”

Noya leans forwards, watching Yaku wrap his arms around himself. “Are you cold?”

“No, just… this helps when I’m anxious.”

“Why’re you anxious?”

Yaku sighs. “I’m always anxious. I control it really well normally, but so much stuff is piling on top of me and I just felt like utter shit. I actually had a panic attack on the train. I haven’t had one in years.”

“Oh shit, that’s awful,” Noya says, not sure what else to say. “You know, one of my teammates gets anxious, and talking about it helps him.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s all stupid, really. I just… I messed up my mock exams and we’re doing so much practise I’m not sleeping enough and Kuroo and Lev are driving me insane!” Yaku says, hugging himself and hunching even further forwards. He gasps for breath, and even someone as dim as Noya can recognise how close he is to a panic attack.

“Whoa, it’s okay there, Yaku-san!” Noya says, darting over and sitting beside Yaku. “Uh, it’s, it’s okay. Just try to breathe, okay? You’re okay.”

He can’t think of anything else to say, so ends up repeating the same few phrases again and again. At some point, he puts a hand on Yaku’s back, and rubs gently as the other boy tries to fight off the beginnings of a panic attack.

After several long minutes, Yaku takes a deep breath and goes red. “Sorry about that.”

“No, it’s fine.”

Yaku smiles weakly. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. When I saw you at the door, I thought you looked mentally exhausted as well as physically. Guess I was right.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s one way to put it,” Yaku says. “Look, about my teammates, they’re not, like, deliberately going around and pissing me off or anything. Lev’s just… a nightmare when I have to coach him on basically everything he sucks at. And Kuroo’s just… it must be nice to have such a mature captain.”

Noya chuckles, knowing for a fact that Kuroo, despite how he looks, is a total idiot – you’d have to be to be friends with Bokuto, after all!

“I know this all must seem really stupid, but… it just got to me, you know?”

“No, I understand,” Noya says. “Even if it seems stupid to everyone else, your feelings are always very real to you. Trust me, I’m always explaining to my dad why I get so worked up over ‘just a sport’.”

Finally, a real smile appears on Yaku’s face. “Thank you for this, Noya. You’re a great guy. Uh… could I maybe stay the night?”

“I thought that was already decided,” Noya says, right before his mom knocks on the door and asks if they want a futon yet. When Noya bursts out laughing, his mom looks puzzled and Yaku smiles, actually starting to relax.

Soon, Yaku curls up on the futon, holding his phone to his ear. Noya puts his headphones in, not wanting to eavesdrop, and only pulls them out when Yaku hangs up.

“He… he said he’s okay with me staying the night here, and he’s sorry if he put too much stress on me,” Yaku says, smiling.

“That’s good,” Noya says. “Now let’s go to sleep.”

Yaku lies down, letting out a long, slow breath. “Night, Noya.”

“Night, Yaku.”

His friend falls asleep before he does, and Noya stares at him, sad he felt so stressed, but glad he could help. He’s just so glad Yaku is okay.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want me to write you a short fic, drop in a prompt at my [personal prompt meme](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/AutisticWriters_Personal_Prompt_Meme)!


End file.
